Along the lines of Dude's suggestion, I would suggest your son look for an Open Source project that catches his passion and learn new technologies in that context and tap other developers for insight and help. It's skill building, application building (both kinds), and potentially career building as well as possible community service creds if his school tracks that.
Another great idea - I am so glad I asked about this.
But a dumb question - can you advise on how he might go about finding Open Source projects that align with his interests?
